ANALYSIS OF CAVE BEAR DIET AND LIFE MODE THROUGH EXAMINATION OF SKULL FEATURES

Ursus spelaeus, more commonly known as the European cave bear, was a Pleistocene species of bear that lived in a wide range of habitats from Spain to Siberia. Unlike most other modern bears, U. spelaeus has been described as being almost entirely herbivorous, though the type of vegetation that they fed on likely varied depending on where they were living. Some researchers hypothesize that a major factor contributing to the cave bear’s extinction was its restricted diet, which could have limited its food options when late-Pleistocene climate change led to global shifts in vegetation, ultimately leading to its extinction. Since diet may have been an important control on their demise, the goal of this research was to determine the types of foods U. spelaeus was consuming by studying the upper carnassial (premolar) teeth of preserved U. spelaeus skulls and comparing their wear patterns to those present on extant brown and black bear skulls.

A nearly complete U. spelaeus skull was available in the Fryxell Geology Museum at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, and this served as the primary specimen of study. An additional isolated carnassial tooth that is on display at the Fryxell Geology Museum was also studied. Molds of the isolated tooth were taken using dental putty and high resolution resin was used to create a cast of each surface of the tooth. Casts were then imaged using a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to look for evidence and patterns of microwear. Patterns of U. spelaeus microwear and macrowear were then compared to those of extant Ursus species whose diets are known, to determine similarities and differences. As of the time of writing, these analyses are ongoing. In addition to diet, other significant life mode details of the Fryxell U. spelaeus specimen – as well as specimens from the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum – were also determined using morphological methods; these details include: age, gender, and overall size.